We champion everyone’s right to free knowledge online.
We protect users’ privacy and speech. We educate governments and policymakers about the importance of the free and open internet. Regardless of location or circumstance, everyone has the right to seek and share knowledge.
Protecting the right to speak and learn freely
We shape public policy that opens access to free online knowledge around the globe. Government imposed censorship and overzealous copyright laws should not stand in the way of international knowledge-sharing.
Defending free expression
Last year we received 684 takedown requests and granted zero. Governments and individuals often ask us to change project content or share information about our users. We push back when these requests could harm users’ rights. We tell you about these requests in our Transparency Report.
Standing up for our users
We help contributors respond to legal threats relating to their work on Wikimedia projects. We have joined legal efforts like the opposition to the 2017 US travel ban. We are suing the United States National Security Agency, challenging their mass surveillance of Wikimedia users and contributors.
Supporting community voices
Volunteer contributors take the lead on editorial decisions. Our public policy efforts and research initiatives focus on maintaining the legal protections that make that possible.
Speak up for free knowledge and access
Just 27% of internet users in Nigeria had heard of Wikipedia in 2016. Today, that number is up to 48%. Our organization is committed to increasing awareness of Wikipedia outside of North America and Europe, in order to expand global knowledge participation.
Fight legal battles to make free knowledge possible
Access to knowledge around the world is under constant attack. At Wikimedia, we work to give access to knowledge to everyone, for free, forever. We fight against censorship, and fiercely promote open licenses to ensure our materials can be used and revised globally.
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News — Noticias
China again blocks Wikimedia Foundation’s accreditation to World Intellectual Property Organization
5 October 2021, San Francisco, CA, USA — China today blocked the Wikimedia Foundation’s bid for observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the second time after the Foundation’s initial application in 2020. WIPO is the United Nations (UN) organization that develops international treaties on copyright, patents, trademarks and related issues. China….
Wikimedia Foundation Announces New Vice President for Global Advocacy Rebecca MacKinnon
27 September 2021, San Francisco, California — The Wikimedia Foundation today announced that Rebecca MacKinnon has joined the Foundation as its first Vice President for Global Advocacy. Rebecca is an experienced advocate for privacy rights and media freedom who has had a long-career in journalism, academia and public policy. “Rebecca joins our team at a….
Elsewhere in Wikimedia — En Otro Lugar de Wikimedia
More about Wikimedia advocacy
Policies on access to knowledge, censorship, copyright, intermediary liability, and privacy directly affect the vibrancy of Wikimedia projects.
Help us unlock the world’s knowledge.
As a nonprofit, Wikipedia and our related free knowledge projects are powered primarily through donations.
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Photo credits
Felix, Satdeep, Stalinjeet and Manavpreet at Wikimedia Conference 2017
Jason Krüger for Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Wikipedia promotional video - Superdotada
Wikimedia Mexico, ISLA, NatalyPop, and the Wikimedia Foundation
